Like many I could not get my floor jack under the vantage’s jacking point. After reading where someone drove up on some scrap wood I decided there had to be a better way.
I had to take the wheels off to paint the rotor hats, so I was motivated to do something. I made two 3 1/2 inch ramps to drive the car onto, and then determined how far away from the jacking points I could safely jack the car up.
If interested I have the process documented on my website at

http://bernardembden.com/am/jacking/index.htm

 

I use Race Ramps to get my car up enough for a jack to slide under. It's got a smoother ramp than stacked wood and they're super lightweight. If you don't mind spending the hundred bucks or so for the pair, they're a great investment. They've held up really well so far.

When you use a soft material to pad your jack, make sure the jack is entirely under the side sill with excellent contact on the chassis. If it isn't, the jack can slide out and the car will drop. I've seen this happen, and the car didn't escape unscathed...

 

I have a set of regular ramps and considered buying the low profile ones. I decided against it because I am paranoid about slipping the clutch to drive up on them
I do double check the jacks contact before jacking. Thanks for the input

 

I'm always terrified to drive off the end of the ramps lol

That's a downside to the Race Ramps. They have some with a lip on the end to help you feel the end of the ramp, but the lip is thin and you barely feel it. Having a solid lip on the end like you did is great - definitely a nice touch.

 

When I use the ramps with my FX I can open the door as I am driving and see where the tires are. If I had to drive the Vantage up on ramps I would have to put a large mirror somewhere so I can see the front tire

 

I bought a cheap aluminum 1.5 ton 'racing' jack from Harbor Freight. It has a very low profile for getting to the jack points effectively, then some jack stands on each side.

 

The approved jacking points has caused me grief so far with my Vantage. I have a nice low jack (bought 2) so that's not a problem, but putting jack stands in after is a problem since there's no way to use the approved jacking point at that point in the process. What I've done so far is just use 2 jacks to do a side at a time without any twisting of the chassis. Then I just leave it on the jacks but put jackstands under the car at other chassis points solely for my safety in case the jacks were to let go. I haven't transferred any weight to any non-approved points in doing this.

If there's a better, safer way (for both the car and myself), please someone tell me.

 

The best system I've ever found is "Jackpoint Jackstands". For some reason I can't get the link to paste here from my phone but if I didn't have a 4 post lift, this would be my choice.
Hopefully this works :

 

I bought some ramps from Northern Tool here in the US made of a plastic material rated over the cars weight. They're light to pick up, fit into each other for more compact storage, enough ramp length that I haven't need a block of wood at ramp entry and have a significant lip at the end for me to feel when pulled forward.


I have to be honest I never really liked ramps but with this car and my wife's track day Miata it makes things so much easier. One tip I would add is that I cut two pieces of 2"x6" pieces of wood that go from the front of the ramp to the wall. This way the ramp is always the same distance from the wall and the ramps can't slip on concrete while driving up them. Once on the ramp you can move the wood out of the way until you lower the car. Once on the ramps I use jack stands as needed for additional height if required and working on the spindle assemblies.


Dave

 

Saw these on TV. IMHO there were two problems.

1) They are not adjustable for height.
2) They are expensive, about $300.00 US each, (I believe) plus additional costs for each custom jack saddle that you need.

 

#3 the footprint is large

 

Interesting... I noticed you said do not just drive the car over a piece of wood... which is exactly what I do haha.

I just take off the wheel, and place a jack stand right at where the lower control arm attaches to the hub, and leave the jack in place so they act as a double fail safe. That was the recommended method for the lotus guys, and I figure that will work for the aston too.

 

Anyone use flat top jack stands like this one?

 

I was starting to look at the QuckJack by Ranger, what do you guys think...

 

Best investment I've made as far as tools go, fits under the car without doing anything special and lifts it ~20" in less than a minute. It doesn't require any extra space which is perfect for my small 1 car garage plus it's easily portable. Here's a pic when I was getting ready to install my X-pipe:




There are bars on each side to prevent the lift from lowering but I prefer to put a couple jack stands under the lift platform as a back up just in case.